Mentoring Program

About

The NASIG Mentoring Committee offers a Mentoring Program for LIS students and new professionals. This lightweight mentoring program is designed to provide a yearlong opportunity for networking and professional development between NASIG regular members, student members, and people new to the profession. Monthly facilitated discussion questions (via email/chat/video call) between mentor/mentee are sent out each month by the mentoring program director, and are designed to get the conversation started. Mentors & mentees will discuss their expectations and needs for the program. The amount of contact between mentors and mentees are left for them to determine. 

Benefits to Mentors:

• Learn about the latest trends and practices 

• Demonstrate leadership skills

• Provide opportunities for self-reflection

• Develop communication skills

Benefits to Mentees:

• Explore your career options.

• Grow your professional network

• Ask questions and advice from an active professional

• Get feedback and encouragement on goals and projects

What do I need to be a good mentor or mentee?

Mentors and mentees must comply with the NASIG Code of Conduct throughout the duration of the program and they must be NASIG members in good standing at the start of the program, and must be willing to commit to participating in the program for the duration of the program. 

For mentors, we invite library professionals at all levels and in all types of libraries to participate and that you approach the mentoring relationship with strong interpersonal and communication skills and desire to support and encourage a less experienced member of the community.

For mentees, we invite library school graduate students and early career professionals  to participate. We aim to match all prospective mentees but if we cannot, priority will be given to those individuals who are interested in the areas of librarianship that NASIG members have expertise in such as cataloging, metadata, acquisitions, e-resource management, scholarly communication, and digital preservation, or those students and professionals who do not know yet what they are interested in. 

Timeline

Early to mid-summer – The call for mentees/mentors goes out.

Late summer to early fall  -- Mentor/mentee matches announced

Early fall -- Mentoring program begins

May  -- Mentoring program officially ends

Program Applications

2024-2025 applications are closed. 2025–2025 applications will be opened later in 2025.

If you have questions, contact us at mentoring@nasig.org

Please remember to become a member of NASIG to participate in this program. Student membership is free.

Expectations for Mentors

• Comply with NASIG Code of Conduct in all communications with mentees

• Apply to be a Mentor using the form linked in the Program Applications section of this page.

• Once you have been matched with and introduced to your mentee by the committee and received their contact information, review their mentee application information and get in touch as soon as possible to introduce yourself.

• Take a few minutes to talk to your mentee by phone, email, online meeting, chat, or text. Some things that you might want to discuss with your Mentee are:

• • Interests of your Mentee (either professional or personal).

  • What they hope to get out of the mentoring program

  • Opportunities that NASIG can provide that may be useful to them e.g. webinars, conferences, committee participation

• Reach out to your mentee at the beginning of each month with the monthly discussion topic. Feel free to talk about the monthly discussion topic or anything else that your mentee might be interested in.

• Communicate with your mentee in a way that is convenient for you both.

• Get in touch with the NASIG Mentoring & Student Outreach Committee at mentoring@nasig.org if for any reason you are unable to fulfill your duties as a mentor so we can reach out to your mentee and make alternative arrangements.

• Complete the evaluation form at the end of the program.

• Get in touch with the NASIG Mentoring & Student Outreach Committee at mentoring@nasig.org if for any reason you are unable to fulfill your duties as a mentor so we can reach out to your mentee and make alternative arrangements. If the committee determines that a mentor/mentee match is not working out, we will be sure to inform both parties and rematch mentors and mentees when necessary. 

Expectations for Mentees

• Comply with NASIG Code of Conduct in all communications with mentees.

• Apply to be a Mentee using the form linked in the Program Applications section of this page.

• Once you have been matched with and introduced to your mentor by the committee and received their contact information, reply to your mentor when they contact you. If you don't hear from them, feel free to contact them.

• Make plans to talk with your mentor by phone, email, online meeting, chat, or text. 

• Respond to your mentor when they reach out at the beginning of each month with the monthly discussion topic. Feel free to talk about the monthly discussion topic or anything else that you might be interested in.

• Communicate with your mentor in a way that is convenient for you both.

• Get in touch with the NASIG Mentoring & Student Outreach Committee at mentoring@nasig.org if for any reason you need to leave the program or if you have any questions or needs that your mentor can not answer. 

• Complete the evaluation form at the end of the program.

• Get in touch with the NASIG Mentoring & Student Outreach Committee at mentoring@nasig.org if for any reason you are unable to continue in the program so we can reach out to your mentor and make alternative arrangements. If the committee determines that a mentor/mentee match is not working out, we will be sure to inform both parties and rematch mentors and mentees when necessary. 

Credits:  Thank you to the BCLA Mentorship Program Webpage for inspiring our redesign.